Would Legalizing Marijuana Make Life Better For Black Americans?

A recent Gallup poll indicates that 50 percent of Americans are in favor of legalizing the recreational use of marijuana. African-Americans tend to hold more conservative views on drug legalization, in spite of the fact that African-Americans are far more likely to be arrested and prosecuted for marijuana possession than their white counterparts.
Proponents of marijuana legalization say that this perspective might change if there were greater awareness around the foundation of the “War on Drugs” in the United States. “There is a lot of evidence to suggest that the origin of these laws was intended to be [utilized as] the new Jim Crow. In order to criminalize large swaths of the population,” said James Clark, a criminal defense attorney in Oakland, California.

African-Americans are often categorized as politically liberal. However, the black church has a large influence on the moral compass of the African-American community. This often-conservative influence might provide an insight into why African-Americans are against relaxing the drug laws that often split up their own families.